Left Neglected

De: Lisa Genova

Narrado por: Sarah Paulson

From neuroscientist and bestselling author Lisa Genova comes a story of resilience in the face of a devastating diagnosis. After a car crash leaves a vibrant mother in her thirties with a traumatic brain disorder called “left neglect,” she learns what truly matters most in life.

Sarah Nickerson, like any other working mom, is busy trying to have it all. One morning while racing to work and distracted by her cell phone, she looks away from the road for one second too long. In that blink of an eye, all the rapidly moving parts of her over-scheduled life come to a screeching halt. After a brain injury steals her awareness of everything on her left side, Sarah must retrain her mind to perceive the world as a whole. In so doing, she also learns how to pay attention to the people and parts of her life that matter most.

In this powerful and poignant New York Times bestseller, Lisa Genova explores what can happen when we are forced to change our perception of everything around us. Left Neglected is an unforgettable story about finding abundance in the most difficult of circumstances, learning to pay attention to the details, and nourishing what truly matters.

Author does great job inhabiting a damaged brain

I am so tired of hearing about 'high-powered' 'over-achievers' and their 'charmed lives' and their over-scheduled kids and their expensive designer everything; I'm not envious, or interested, I'm just bored. But if you can overlook that construct, which the author uses so that her brain-injured heroine can learn what is 'truly important' in life, this book is a fascinating look at a really weird phenomenon, 'left neglect', in which an injury to the right brain leaves one unaware that 'left' exists; the left of the room, the left of the page, the left of the body, the left of anything. Weird! And it seems like the author could not have done a better job of describing the frustrations of this affliction if she did, indeed, suffer from it herself. It is really interesting to follow this woman's road to recovery. And the reader was excellent.

Unlikable Main Character

The condition 'Left Neglect' suffered by the main character in this book is extremely fascinating and intriguing, yet the main character herself is completely unlikable. She is a pessimistic narcissist that seems to consider everyone in her life, including her children, a burden. I kept expecting a big change in her, an evolution of character, that never occurred. It seemed she learned nothing from her traumatic experience. My entire book club agreed: interesting condition, horrible main character, so-so book.

Solid 3.5 Stars for Left Neglected

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Absolutely!

Any additional comments?

Solid 3.5 Stars.

Lisa Genova has quickly become one of my favorite authors. She writes about health issues that are real life issues that happen to many people, this certain topic of this book, left neglect, is one that I had never heard of prior to reading this book.

Left Neglect is a term used to describe when your body no longer realizes it has a left side, therefore, you are unable to eat, walk, read, get dressed, exercise, etc.. correctly. Intense physical therapy is needed and individuals who are plagued with left neglect may never completely return to normal.

This is my least favorite Lisa Genova book I have read. I think the reason for this is because her other books discussed illnesses that were much more widely known. She is still an incredibly talented author and I look forward to reading her next book.

Informative book about brain injury.

Having a family member with traumatic brain injury, I felt the frustration that my niece must feel. Excellent done in first person.

Love this story

Very well done and meaningful. Makes one think about what is truly important in life.